Dodgers Have A Tough Act To Follow
by Eric Stephen on Aug 7, 2009 4:00 PM PDT
in Dodgers Game Previews
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PrintCan the Dodgers follow Andre Ethier's walk-off heroics last night with a victory tonight? There have been ten previous walk-off wins for the Dodgers, and they are 5-5 the next game. Two of the wins (May 2 and June 6) were yet another walk-off.
Tonight's pitching matchup is a rematch of Sunday night's contest in Atlanta: Chad Billingsley vs. Jair Jurrjens. The Dodgers won that game 9-1, but Billingsley was forced to leave early with a right leg cramp. Although not necessarily planned, Billingsley's right arm may have received some added rest over the last few weeks. His last four starts represent his four lowest pitch counts of the season.
Earlier today, we looked at how the Dodgers fared over the first two-thirds of the season. Through those first 108 games (game 109 was Thursday night), 24-year old Matt Kemp was on pace for 95 runs and 104 RBI. In all of Dodger history, here are the seasons by a Dodger 24 or younger with at least 90 runs and 90 RBI:
| Player | Age | Year | Runs | RBI |
| Oyster Burns | 24 | 1889 | 105 | 100 |
| Jimmy Sheckard | 22 | 1901 | 116 | 104 |
| Duke Snider | 22 | 1949 | 100 | 92 |
| Duke Sinder | 23 | 1950 | 109 | 107 |
| Duke Snider | 24 | 1951 | 96 | 101 |
| Tommy Davis | 23 | 1962 | 120 | 153 |
Just by being mentioned with Duke Snider, Kemp must be doing something right.
One player the Dodgers missed in Atlanta was Braves' shortstop Yunel Escobar. He is back healthy again, and even had a double and a walk in the series opener last night. Escobar was rumored to be in a potential offseason trade for Jake Peavy, and its probably a good thing the Dodgers won't have to face Escobar 19 time per season. The 26-year old is hitting .305/.368/.466 this season, good for a 120 OPS+, and a .362 wOBA. Escobar ranks sixth among MLB shortstops in Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
Thirty years ago today, Manny Mota tied Smoky Burgess' record for career pinch hits. Pinch hitting for Ken Brett, Mota singled off Joe Sambito of the Astros for his 144th career pinch hit. The eighth inning single was part of a rally that saw the Dodgers turn an 8-4 deficit into a 10-8 win. The 41-year old Mota hit .357/.400/.357 in 47 plate appearances for the Dodgers in 1979. All 15 of his hits that year were singles, tied for the seventh most hits ever by a Dodger with no extra-base hits.
Get your guesses in for "Just A Bit Outside" here.
Game Time: 7:10pm
TV: Prime Ticket
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Lineups
Dodgers
Furcal, SS
Ethier, RF
Manny, LF
Blake, 3B
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
Martin, C
Hudson, 2B
Bills P
Braves
McLouth CF
Prado 2B
Chipper 3B
McCann C
Anderson LF
Escobar SS
LaRoche 1B
Church RF
Jurrjens P
oh really
lol i just read an article that said they did.. it was probably a lie then
i think seattle claimed rios
they might have
I think every once in a while, someone like Kershaw should be put in waivers, just as an exercise to gauge the other GMs. If anything less than 29 claims come in for him, you try to work other deals with the GM or GMs that didn’t claim him. :)
Doesn't the worst team in the league get first crack at him?
So I guess the Nats grabbed him. Imagine Strasburg AND Kershaw??
strasburg and kershaw would have been the number 1 and 2 picks this year
had kershaw went to college
Aaron miller pitching for Great Lakes right now
1 innings so far 0 hits 0 walks 1k
2 perfect innings so far for miller
4 groundball outs to the left side and 2 strikeouts
I’m way too anxious for the other half of the Abreu transaction. It pretty much has to relate to Schmidt, but I’m building this up in my mind like the dunk over Lebron video.
Abreu is not on the 40 man right?
I guess there is a small chance it doesn’t involve Schmidt. Abreu is placed on 40 man which was vacated by unloading Vargas and McDonald or Elbert is sent down to make space.
by Michael White on Aug 7, 2009 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh okay
so in that case Abreu can simply be moved to the 25 man by sending down McDonald or Elbert.
Not necessarily a reason Schidt has to be linked then.
by Michael White on Aug 7, 2009 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions
The reason I think it is about Schmidt (heh) is because of this quote from Rawitch:
Not sure if the other half of the move is public yet, so I’ll refrain from posting here but I’m sure it’ll be in the news shortly.
…and I’m probably reading way too much into the quote, but sending J-Mac or Elbert down doesn’t strike me as “news.”
No it doesn't
And it makes sense. You won’t need Stults till Monday for his start. So in the meantime, it makes sense to remove Schidt from the 25 man while still keeping your full stable of bullpen pitchers through the weekend.
by Michael White on Aug 7, 2009 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Vicente Padilla
Has been DFA. He would be a pretty good 5th starter for the dodgers
Great Lakes Announcer just said that
Nate Eovaldi and Ethan Martin will only throw 3 innings every time they start for the rest of the season to keep their innings down in case they make the playoffs.
Also Aaron Miller 1st round pick in 09 goes 5 innings 3 hits 0 runs 6 Ks and he had 0 walks… only 62 pitches. Great start for him
From Beto Duran.
DuranLA#Dodgers notes: Jason Schmidt to DL (shoulder) Tony Abreu up from AAA. Kuroda to start Monday, Elbert on Sunday.3 minutes ago from twidroid
Elbert??!?!?!?
yesssss…. this is great news
CHIPPER SCRATCHED
Looks like the Dodgers will take another one from the Bravos tonight. Congrats. You guys better destroy the Phillies.
McLouth
Prado
Anderson
McCann
LaRoche
Escobar
Church
Johnson
Jurrjens
Heres our new lineup. Kelly Johnson cant hit $h!t. Just saying…
7/24/2009 - "The Phillies are too far ahead in the NL East for the Braves to make a run." - Buster Olney
REMEMBER THAT BOYS.
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